I finally weakened and bought a Spitfire… I have always loved the Spitfire. There is something about those elliptical wing tips that just looks right.

This one comes as an RTF version or as a fuselage/wings/motor/gearbox/prop deal. I went with the latter and used my own servos/ESC/Rx/Tx. It is Aileron/Elevator/Throttle and has no undercarriage. The wingspan is around a metre and mine weighs around 750 grams, ready to fly. I use 2200 mAh 3S LiPo's which fit in the hatch just in front of the cockpit.

The
ST Models "Easy Fly ST330"

My local Hobby Shop
owner saw this plane at a toy and hobby fair and decided to get a few.
He gave me one to build and test out for him. Look familiar, does it?

It is remarkably
similar to a Multiplex Easy Glider Electric. In fact, everyone I have
asked has said that is what it is. Here is a photo of it next to one:

So, which one is
the Easy Fly then? The one on the left. Well, imitation is the sincerest
form of flattery! The Easy Fly comes with a Brushless bell type outrunner
Motor and ESC (both installed), 4 channel basic 36 MHz (in Australia)
Transmitter, a 5 channel Receiver (installed and plugged in), all servos
(installed), an 1800 mAh 3S LiPo and a basic 12 volt balancing LiPo charger.
All you need it 8 dry cells for the charger and you are ready to fly.
Assembly only took 15 minutes and I was going really slowly, waiting for
the battery to charge. It is designed so you can pull it apart and put
it back into its box for storage or transport. Handy for holidays...

How does it fly?
It is Rudder/Elevator/Ailerons/Throttle and is just under 2 metre wingspan.
Well, once I got it sorted out, which took a while as the hideous instruction
"Manual" did not even mention C of G, it flies quite well. Excellent
value for money - around A$260 here. The stock motor works well and takes
it up at around 40 degrees. I have, of course, had a little play with
it and am now running a Hyperion Z2213-20 Brushless outrunner with a Graupner
10x6 folder on a suitable spinner and have changed the receiver to a 6
channel one so I can have separate channels on the ailerons and use my
JR transmitter. It now climbs at 80 degrees... I did a review for my club
newsletter which you can see
HERE.

The
E-Flight Blade CX2 and PicooZ

Yes, I finally weakened
and bought a helicopter - well, two in fact! Both are indoor types.

The E-Flight Blade
CX2 is an electric, twin rotor, coaxial chopper which is very easy to
learn on - well, as easy as choppers get! It comes with a Spectrum 2.4GHz
transmitter so you don't have to worry about frequency clashes. I have
already fitted it with a heat sink for the motors, which get very hot
after using a full battery, "trainer wheels" - those extended
carbon fibre rods with ping pong balls on the end to help save it from
crashes and hitting walls - an aftermarket set of heavy duty skids and
a tail boom to cut down on the prop wash effects. The original plastic
tail boom looks good, but it suffers from turbulence from the prop wash.
The replacement carbon fibre one has a much smaller surface area and is
much less thrown about. Replacement aftermarket motors are on the way
- they run much cooler and use less power. So far I fly it in the school
hall at work at lunch times and am slowly getting the hang of it.

The main rotor is
345mm diameter and the overall length is 417mm. It weighs 227 gms, ready
to fly.

The photos are of
the Blade CX2 in standard form and with the new tail boom.

The PicooZ is the
smallest remote control helicopter around. It is made from EPP, weighs
next to nothing and uses infrared remote control - just like a TV! It
is tiny and has two channel control, Throttle/Rudder. In order to get
it to fly forwards you have to weight the nose - I use BluTac - until
it tips forward in the hover and the chopper moves forward.

It is around 140mm
long and weighs a silly 10 gms! There is a YouTube video HERE.
This is a rather silly little toy chopper, but lots of fun... Oh, dear,
Loopy has discovered the PicooZ! I don't think I will ever get it back.
He is flying it around the kitchen, doing carrier landings on chairs!

The
Bug

This is a 3D style
EPP/Carbon Fibre rod indoor/outdoor flyer. It is totally crazy to fly
with outrageously huge control surfaces and throws. I use a small outrunner
to power it and it is very exciting plane to fly! Heaps of fun and a real
handful. There is a carbon fibre rod around the front, in front of the
prop to protect it from walls.

The "wing span"
is 600mm. Of course, it is flouro orange and green...

The
GWS Pico Tiger Moth and Pico Stick

We
have a new pair of "SlowFlyer" electric indoor capable models.
These are both from GWS and are made from Polystyrene and Depron so we
have to be careful with them. I have always loved the look of biplanes
so a Tiger Moth was an easy choice. I just love the look of these planes!
The Pico Stick is a very simple little plane with a square stick as a
fuselage and a Depron tail and wing.

Both are Throttle/Rudder/Elevator
and use the GWS IPS-A gearbox. The Pico Moth has a small inrunner Brushless
and PicoStick uses the tiny original brushed motor. The Pico Moth has
a wingspan of 770mm and the Pico Stick is 970mm.

They can be flown
outdoors on a calm day or indoors in an area about the size of a basketball
court.

The
Multiplex TwinJet

The "Flouro
Airforce" continues! This is big brother of the MicroJet and our
second twin-engine model. I was able to get this one in white Elapor so
I could paint it successfully with Flouro Orange (the top) and Flouro
Yellow/Green (the bottom). I think you could say it is spectacular! You
need sunglasses just to be in the same room with it! I don't think I will
have any trouble finding this one...

By all accounts this
is a great flyer and can be used on the slope as well. I have kept it
pretty much standard for the moment - twin Multiplex Speed480 motors but
I have decided to try Graupner 5.5x4.3 SpeedProps. On the test bench they
are more powerful and use less energy. Controls are Aileron/Elevator/Throttle
("Elevons").

Mine weighs around
850 to 900 grams, ready to fly, depending upon battery choice. The wingspan
is 910mm and the length 802mm.

Here
are the MicroJet and TwinJet side by side.

The
Multiplex TwinStar II

This is our first
multi-engine model and we are looking forward to flying it! According
to first reports it is very aerobatic and heaps of fun. The plane is another
of the brilliant moulded Elapor models from Multiplex. I think this one
is probably the first to be ready to fly in Australia. The paint job is
Flouro Orange like the EasyGlider Electric below. Unfortunately, photos
just cannot capture the colour properly. This model is Rudder/Elevator/Aileron/Throttle
and at is running two 400F Brushless motors with a pair of Graupner 8x7
SlimProps. The standard build took me about 4 hours plus another 2 hours
of painting and fine tuning the controls.

The wingspan is 1600mm
and it weighs around 1100gms, ready to fly.

The
Multiplex EasyGlider Electric - EGE for short

This plane is a 1.9
metre Electric assist glider from Multiplex in Germany. It has Rudder/Elevator/Ailerons/Throttle
and is a fantastic plane to fly, either as a thermal hunter on the flat
or as a slopie on the hills. Ours is powered by a Max Motors 400F Brushless
motor using the original gearbox and a Graupner CAM 11"x6" folding
propellor. It climbs out at around 45 degrees on this setup. The battery
we use is a 2200 mAh "slim" 3S LiPo pack from PolyQuest. The
construction is injection moulded Elapor, a very tough foam.

This aircraft is
magnificent to fly, very responsive and it provides great feedback to
the pilot on the ground. The wingspan is around 1.9 metres and it weighs
880gms, ready to fly.

The
Multiplex MicroJet - the Pocket Rocket

This little screamer
is made from injected Elapor like the EasyGlider above, but is a very
different plane! It is designed for speed and manoeuvrability. It is usually
powered by a Speed400 6volt motor but ours is thrown around the sky with
a Mega 16/15/4 Brushless motor turning a Graupner Speed CAM propellor
turning 20,000 RPM at full throttle. This combination has been clocked
at 113.4 km/h!!! This is not a plane for the faint hearted or slow of
thumbs. That is why Loopy is the pilot. It has a tiny 640mm wingspan and
weighs in at around 520 grams, ready to fly. Control is by Elevons (combined
Elevators and Ailerons) and throttle. The battery is a 2200mAh 3S LiPo
from PolyQuest. It draws around 16 Amps at full throttle.

The
Graupner Mini Star Jet

The Mini Star Jet
is pictured above with the MicroJet. As you can see it has a larger wingspan
- 850mm. That is a 300mm ruler for comparison. This model is running the
stock motor, a 6 volt Graupner Speed400 but has a Robbe 6"x3.5"
folder propellor. The battery is a 1500 mAh 2S LiPo from PolyQuest. On
this setup it is a much more sedate proposition than the MicroJet and
thus is usually flown by Numb Thumbs. It is very manoeuvrable - but not
as much so as the MicroJet. This model is made from polystyrene and thus
is much more fragile. It also uses Elevons/Throttle for control and is
a lot of fun to fly.

The
FoamFly Pelican

The
Pelican is a very different beast all together. It is a light weight seaplane
capable of taking off from water. Control is by Rudder/Elevator/Throttle
and it is a wonderful plane to fly, very sedate and capable of quite slow
flight. It is very stable in the air, so long as it is calm. Because it
is very light, calm days are the best or it gets thrown around a lot This
plane was built from the FoamFly kit which is one of the best "foamie"
kits I have ever seen.

Numb Thumbs, Loopy and friend, Dan, at Kilcunda Ridge with
our Erasers. Because of the graphics we are called "The
Burning Rubbers".

The Multiplex EasyStar, a very versatile plane. It is a
park flyer but can also be used on the slope, as a glider
or to carry a camera.

Our Graupner Cumulus 2000, a beautiful plane. It comes
with two nose cones, one for electric flight and one as
a straight glider.